Heavyweight Dave Allen (24-7-2, 19 KOs) clearly won the weekend by showing off his charisma outside of the ring and then following it up with a brutal knockout victory over Johnny Fisher (13-1, 11 KOs) this past Saturday on DAZN at the Copper Box Arena in Middlesex, U.K.
After raising some eyebrows and creating some laughter at Friday’s weigh-in ceremony, Allen knocked down Fisher twice before the referee put a halt to the action, and the white towel was thrown in by Fisher’s corner.
Johnny Fisher vs. Dave Allen 2- Not Leaving It To The Judges
It was December 2024 on the undercard of Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury 2 when Fisher met Allen for the first time. Before the bell rang to start the fight, the talk was about Fisher being a top heavyweight prospect for Matchroom Boxing and that he was the division’s future. Eddie Hearn, being Eddie Hearn, used his platform to magnify that hype even more. What happened when the fight actually began made him realize Fisher was simply a product of good matchmaking.
Fisher struggled mightily against Allen and, in the fifth round, suffered the first knockdown of his short career up to this point. He wasn’t quite right after that, and Allen performed his best, sending the fight to the scorecards as they lasted to the final bell. This is where things got interesting as the judges saw this one 95-94 twice for Fisher and 96-93 for Allen, awarding Fisher the split decision victory. The decision was debated throughout social media and drove Hearn to book an immediate rematch. Although Fisher likely assured Hearn that it was a fluke of a fight, the rematch showed that it wasn’t, and Allen had Fisher’s number all along.
Before The Rematch, Allen Steals the Show
In what was an unexpected move but a nod to the “Gypsy King”, Allen showed up to the weigh-in ceremony with a speedo like underwear that had a dozen pictures of his face on it. This created a loud laughter throughout the venue hosting the weigh-in ceremony, and it also played into the fact that Allen was enjoying the moment and making the most of it. Fisher wasn’t smiling as much as he tried to remain focused on the task. Both guys came in at career-high weights and were ready to do battle.
The Rematch
In the opening round, Fisher was gauging the distance and occasionally threw his left jab. Allen was moving forward and threw an overhand right in spots as Fisher had his left hand down. Fisher had a good second round, leading with the left jab and following it with a long, straight right hand. Allen kept coming forward, but Fisher did a great job keeping that distance.
In the third round, Fisher landed a hard right hand to the body of Allen that nearly folded him. Allen was buzzed, but he was able to recover quickly. Although Fisher was warned for a low blow later in the round, he was in his rhythm, and Allen had difficulty getting his offense off. Fisher continued his dominance in the fourth round as Allen was taking a ton of punishment. The DAZN commentators praised Fisher after the fourth round but wondered if he could sustain it.
It was in the fifth round that Allen suddenly woke up. It was almost as if he sensed that Fisher was fatiguing quickly. Allen began to unload his overhand rights, which were landing on the side of Fisher’s head and a left hook to the body. With 23 seconds remaining in the round, Allen landed two consecutive overhand rights that sent Fisher down for the first time in the fight. Fisher got up at the nine count by the referee, but his legs were shaky and unstable.
With eight seconds remaining in the round, Allen landed a left and right hook to the body and finished it with a crushing left hook to the head, milliseconds before the sound of the bell that sent Fisher down face first. The referee almost instantly waved the fight off, and shortly after, the towel came flying in from Fisher’s corner.
Knockout of the year?! 🤔#FisherAllen2 pic.twitter.com/1OVGF3xA0h
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) May 17, 2025
Out of respect for Fisher being still down, Allen did not celebrate his knockout victory immediately and waited for Fisher to get up before he did.
This Is Why We Love Boxing
Former unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua posted on X something that sums up why fans love to tune into the sport. Joshua said, “Dave (Allen) was suicidal, a gambling addict who everyone thought was finished years ago. Now he’s got a family, a few hundred thousand to his name, and got his biggest win…boxing.” You cannot write a better comeback story than that of Allen’s. He was a huge betting underdog in the first fight and a 2-1 underdog in the rematch. This is why you fight the fights, as Allen is certainly leading in the comeback story of 2025.
Where does Allen go from here? If things stay consistent, he likely has gotten the attention of Turki Alalshikh, who loves the heavyweight division, and Allen will land on a future Riyadh Season card for more money than he has ever been paid. For now, Allen will surely take his victory lap, as he should.
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